Blending technological wizardry with cosmic vision, New York artist Leo Villareal uses custom software to conceive arresting works in light. His latest creation, titled Buckyball, was recently unveiled at New York City’s Madison Square Park. The colossal sculpture consists of two concentric spheres measuring 10 and 20 feet in diameter. (Made up of hexagons and pentagons, the nested forms each mirror that of a carbon 60 molecule while recalling architect Buckminster Fuller’s iconic geodesic domes.)

The two spheres, formed out of hexagons and pentagons, are reminiscent of a soccer ball. Photo: James Ewing

Lining their metal framework are 180 LED tubes programmed to emit a spectrum of some 16 million hues in seemingly random sequences—whether blinking, twinkling, or slowly shifting. The results are nothing short of magical, and a sight best enjoyed from the zero-gravity benches installed for the occasion.

The artist with his wife, Yvonne Force Villareal, at the opening reception for Buckyball.
Photo: Patrick McMullan/PatrickMcMullan.com